The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 4210, which would
require the establishment of a new Office of Domestic Terrorism
Preparedness within the Executive Office of the President with the
responsibility for directing various departments' and agencies' activities
for domestic terrorism preparedness. The Administration does not believe
that requiring the establishment of such an office is either necessary or
appropriate.

The Administration has long recognized the need for comprehensive and
coordinated domestic planning and preparedness against "weapons of mass
destruction" terrorism. In 1998, the President issued Presidential
Decision Directive (PDD) 62, which established an architecture for
comprehensive coordination and review of counterterrorism policies and
programs. In the course of implementing that PDD, the Administration has
put in place an interagency process to review programs, set priorities and
strategies, and make funding decisions for terrorism and other high
priority national security issues that cross agency lines. This effort has
significantly improved terrorism coordination and response capabilities,
not just within the Federal Government, but also for State and local
governments. However, H.R. 4210 would not advance these efforts; in
practice, it would set them back. H.R. 4210 would create another new
structure that conflicts with the existing authorities of Executive Branch
departments and agencies, and would create confusion rather than improved
coordination. Passage of this bill will fracture the foundation of the
Federal Government's comprehensive counterterrorism program by requiring
that domestic efforts be considered separate and distinct from
international counterterrorism policies and programs. Finally, the
Administration strongly opposes those provisions of H.R. 4210 that would
intrude on the prerogative of the President to decide how to organize his
staff.

The Administration understands that the Committee may offer a Manager's
amendment. As reported to the Administration, the amendment is an
improvement over the original bill. However, the amendment does not
adequately address the Administration's concerns or reduce the conflicts
with existing Presidential directives regarding terrorism preparedness. As
such, the Administration strongly opposes the Manager's amendment as well.